Kasparov Warned of Life‑Danger Plot After US Charges Kremlin Operatives

Thu Oct 01 2026 22:00:29 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

Ex‑chess champion and Russian opposition leader Garry Kasparov says US and Lithuanian security services warned him of a murder plot by Kremlin agents.

Former world chess champion Garry Kasparov, now a vocal critic of Vladimir Putin, says he has been warned by US and Lithuanian security services that his life is in danger. The warnings came after the U.S. Justice Department opened an indictment against alleged Kremlin operatives suspected of plotting attacks on Russian dissidents abroad. Kasparov claims he was one of only two expatriated opponents to receive such a threat, and he has taken heightened protective measures since his arrival in the United States. The indictment underscores a broader Russian intelligence network that prosecutors allege has been targeting opponents worldwide.

Kasparov warned of life‑danger plot after US charges Kremlin operatives

Former world chess champion Garry Kasparov, living in exile in the United States, says he was warned by U.S. and Lithuanian security services that his death was a possibility. The warning was issued during the summer and prompted Kasparov to take enhanced personal security measures.

The alert follows the U.S. Justice Department’s unsealing of an indictment this month that accuses five individuals linked to the Kremlin of conspiring to carry out attacks and murders of Russian dissidents and defectors, including Kasparov and Free Russia Forum co‑founder Ivan Tyutrin.

While Kasparov has not been told explicitly that he and Tyutrin were named targets, his Substack post notes that both men were warned about their safety and that he will not hide, even if it seemed possible to do so. He stresses that he and his family will never feel truly safe so long as President Vladimir Putin remains in power, a position echoed by millions worldwide.

Kasparov retired from competitive chess in 2005 to pursue a full‑time political career, founding opposition movements openly opposing Putin before fleeing Russia in 2013. Since then he has been barred from returning to Russia, labeled a foreign agent and, in 2024, added to a Russian list of terrorists and extremists – designations the activist rejects.

Another figure reportedly warned was Ilya Ponomarev, the only Russian parliamentarian to vote against the annexation of Crimea in 2014 and who now lives in exile in Ukraine. Ponomarev declined to confirm or deny the specific advisory, but said the alleged plot represents a new level of escalation by Russia.

The U.S. Justice Department described the network, dubbed the RIS Network, as a “global assassination network” that has allegedly recruited U.S. citizens and foreigners to carry out killings on behalf of the Kremlin. The five alleged key figures—Yuri Khrameev, Kirill Khrameev, Oemis Romagoza Durruthy, Yaidel Delgado Suarez and Angel Eduardo Castro—remain at large.